Assassins Secrets 3 - There's No Place Like Home
by Aveline Archer
Summary: AS Part 3 - Picks up three months after the events of Part 2, where Gin is still attempting to discover her family roots while keeping her husband; Steve Rogers at bay. But she unwittingly discovers her family tree is a little more twisted than she expected. She must decide what path to choose. Post Avengers/Pre Winter Soldier...will eventually run into CA:TWS.
1. Chapter 1

**Assassins Secrets 3 ****–**** There's No Place Like Home.**

_[At the end of Assassins Secrets 2...]_

**Gin.**

I entered the hospital room, raising an eyebrow when Fury dismissed the two agents guarding his door. They left us alone and I walked over to the bed, placing Loretta's worn backpack in his lap.

"You got it off her?"

"Don't pretend that you didn't know I wouldn't."

He opened the bag, peering into the bright blue light that erupted from inside. He closed it, flashing me a feeble smile. "You've done well, Renard, although it's come at a cost."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I got news this morning, Loretta and Barton were killed in a car bombing in Thailand."

"What?"

"I had two agents tailing you, they witnessed the explosion."

I turned my back on Fury, biting down hard on my lip so my eyes filled with tears. "I don't believe it. She was fine when I saw her…I don't understand how this could happen."

"She got on the wrong side of some bad people, Renard. This was the only way it could end. Although it's a shame Barton was killed, he was a good agent." I faced Fury when I felt a tear roll down my cheek. He appeared satisfied with my reaction. "I've arranged for your retirement from SHIELD, you can sign the papers downstairs when you leave."

"Thank you, that's all I ever wanted."

I headed to the door but as I pulled it open I paused, glancing back at Fury over my shoulder. "By the way, I know Howard Stark is my biological father, and so does Tony."

Fury's forehead furrowed but he didn't say anything as I walked out. I held my head high as I walked confidently along the corridor. Fury and SHIELD wouldn't control my life any longer, I was finally free from all the burdens I'd spent most of my life running away from. And now there was only one missing piece to the puzzle of my past. The answer lay with Tony Stark.

**1.**

**Gin.**

_[March 2013 – Brooklyn, New York]_

My eyes snapped opened the same time as my heart jolted, skipping a beat before violently thumping against my ribcage. My lips parted to release a sharp breath, rather than the whisper lingering on my tongue that I dared not speak aloud, but it was constantly turning over in my mind, infecting every part of my daily life.

My head shifted against the pillow, the faint light of the coming dawn warming the bedroom and highlighting the empty space beside me. I briefly touched my chest, cringing at the familiar pain that came with the knowledge I was slowly destroying the greatest thing in my life.

I suddenly sat up, letting my loose brown waves fall against my back as I slipped from between the sheets, goose bumps tingling up my bare legs when my feet touched the polished floorboards. I reached for my satin robe draped along the end of the bed, pulling it on as I walked towards the large window. It gave me a nice view of the street our eight story co-op building was located on a two bedroom loft styled apartment me and Steve had purchased in Brooklyn Heights, not long after I retired from SHIELD.

It wasn't the spacious, Colonial house I'd originally discovered in New Haven, Connecticut. I'd vainly attempted to convince Steve of its perfection but the apartment we'd settled on was located three blocks from a promenade that overlooked the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn Bridge. All were landmarks Steve remembered from the old days, and even he couldn't hide how much it meant to him to remain in Brooklyn.

However, our living arrangements were the least of my concerns as my attention had been wrapped up in discovering everything I could about Howard Stark – the father who'd done everything in his power to conceal his identity from me. I hadn't been able to bring myself to contact Tony. Part of me was afraid he'd reject me as well. And with Loretta living her new life in the Caribbean with Clint, I longed to make my family complete. But my obsession had caused me to push Steve and the rest of my family away. I'd unwittingly slipped back into the old habits I'd sworn to forget.

I jumped when the door abruptly opened, glancing over my shoulder as Steve entered. He looked up in surprise as I faced him.

"You're up early."

"I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, well I just came to grab a couple of my things." He stated moving towards his wardrobe, turning on the light.

I turned to watch him place some of his clothes into a bag. "What are you doing?" I asked quietly, fearing the worse was finally happening.

"I've got a new mission." He didn't look up as he dropped the bag and pulled off his T-shirt, tossing it into the hamper beside the door and reached for a clean one. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. Not that you seem to care at the moment."

I sighed, trying to ignore the bitterness in his tone. "Don't talk like I don't give a shit –"

"Well, what do you want me to say, Gin?" He snapped suddenly, his blue eyes narrowing darkly at me. "You've been distance for months now –"

"I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, and you know that!" I walked over to the bed and began roughly making it.

"No, what I know is that my wife would rather spend hours combing through dusty archives and watching old film reels than spend any time with her family!"

"It's not like that!" I barked back, tossing the pillows against the headboard.

"You could've met with Tony weeks ago! He wanted to meet you, Gin –"

"I wasn't ready to see him!" I faced him, shaking my head. "Don't act like you understand what I'm going through, because you don't have any idea!"

He stepped towards me but thought better of it, remaining beside his open wardrobe. "Gin, you know damn well that my dad died before I was born, and that I watched my mom die in hospital. So don't tell me that I don't understand, because both of my parents are dead too!"

"I thought you were leaving." I stubbornly folded my arms across my chest.

"I am." He snatched up his bag and walked swiftly from the room, not bothering to look back at me as he slammed the door behind him.

I waited until I heard his motorcycle rumble outside, moving over to the window to see the shiny Harley Davidson speeding down the tree lined street before I walked over to my own wardrobe. I retrieved the suitcase I'd already pack, along with some clean clothes, taking them with me as I headed out of the bedroom to use the bathroom. This was just the push I needed to meet my half-brother.

-x-

I departed the airport terminal, stepping out into the early morning sunlight and lowered my dark sunglasses over my hazel eyes. I caught the first cab that pulled up to the curb, rattling off the address from the notebook I'd taken to carrying around with me. I would be the first to admit, leaving SHIELD the second time round was harder. I had so much more to walk away from – a place on the Avengers roll call, a position that was only offered once in a lifetime and working partnership with my husband.

I fiddled with my wedding rings, feeling the guilt weigh heavy on my shoulders and I itched to call Steve, to hear his voice and let the comforting tone soothe all my worries. But he would still be pissed at me, and as usual he had every right to be. I couldn't afford to let my thoughts dwell on my fragile marriage, today was one of the most important days of my life – another piece of the puzzle that was my life. I only hoped my half-brother would still be willing to meet with me.

I gave the driver a few crumpled notes when the cab eventually screeched to a halt and got out; lingering before the large iron gates protecting the modern mansion located on the Malibu cliff in the distance. I swallowed my fears and made my way to the intercom box beside the gates, pressing the button to call up to the house.

"_You have reached the home of Tony Stark, he is not taking visitors today __–"_

"Maybe he can make an exception for me." I interrupted the British sounding computerized voice.

"_I__'__m afraid he__'__s asked not to be disturbed by anyone, even though your voice patterns match the identification of SHIELD Agent Genevieve Renard.__"_

"It's actually Genevieve Rogers now, and I don't work for SHIELD anymore, haven't for a few months now."

"_I will update my records for future reference.__"_

I frowned. "Thanks, I think. Is Tony there? I would really like to talk to him, it's important."

"_One moment.__"_

I buried my hands in my jacket pockets, gazing around the sunlit area until a gruff, male voice floated through the speaker.

"_What?__"_

"Tony Stark? I'm Genevieve Rogers –"

"_I say again, what?__"_

"I was hoping we could talk –"

"_Isn't that what we__'__re doing now?__"_

I rolled my hazel eyes. "It wasn't the conversation I wanted to have with you,"

"_Well, you can change the subject if you want, no guarantees I'll be listening though.__"_

"You know who I am don't you?"

"_You__'__re a SHIELD agent.__"_

"I was, I'm officially retired, but there's a good chance I'm also Howard Stark's daughter…and your half-sister." I remarked quietly, feeling like I was baring my soul to entire world rather than a small intercom box.

"_That makes a change from someone claiming to be my lovechild.__"_

I ignored his bad timing for a crude joke. "I know you wanted to see me before now but, to be honest I was scared…"

The intercom switched off and I stood motionless for a long moment and then began muttering every curse word I knew under my breath. I couldn't really blame him for not wanting to see me. I hadn't wanted to accept that Loretta was my sister or that I was adopted. It was an emotional upheaval to say the least. I turned on my heel, motioning to leave but abruptly stopped, glancing over my shoulder when I heard the gates slowly begin to part and open behind me.

My lips curved as I turned back, making my way up the drive. Within a couple of minutes I reached the vast, white mansion perched securely on a cliff that visibly looked over the ocean. I walked up to the front doors and knocked, only to jump when the English voice spoke to me through a speaker above me.

"_You may enter, Mrs. Rogers, Mr. Stark is in his workshop if you__'__d like to follow the spiral staircase down there.__"_

I opened the door, walking into the well-lit entrance. Everything was modern, expensive and attention-grabbing – just like Tony, who I'd only known about through his exploits as Iron Man. I skipped down the couple of steps into the main, circular living space. The glass panel beside me showed off the waterfall feature and the spiral staircase I assumed I was to follow.

I descended the staircase that led to the workshop and garage where through the floor to ceiling glass panels I was able to see a range of vehicles, including an unfinished hot-rod where a pair of legs could be seen beneath it. I tapped my fingers against the glass until Tony rolled out. He sat up, looking around with a frown and then spotted me. He got up, walking over to unlock the door, wiping his greasy hands on an old rag as I cautiously entered.

"So, you're Mrs. Captain America?"

"Something like that, but everyone usually calls me Gin."

His dark brown eyes studied me from head to toe. "So you're meant to be my dad's lovechild?"

"Something like that." I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the goose bumps that broke out on my flesh. "If you don't mind, I could really use a stiff drink."

"Me too, kid." He led me over to the sitting area, motioning for me to take a seat on the brown leather couch. I exhaled a long breath, watching as he grabbed a bottle of liquor from the fridge and a couple of glasses. "I thought you weren't able to drink with the serum."

"I can drink, I just can't get drunk." I accepted the glass he handed me.

"That is annoying,"

"You have no idea." I muttered before sculling the liquor in a mouthful, motioning for him to pour me another. "I use to be a drunk. It was my way of coping with…things, I'd seen and done while working for SHIELD."

"So you weren't Fury's poster girl?"

I shook my head, studying his features to find similarities as he poured me another drink. "I've always taken pleasure in being a thorn in Fury's side; honestly I don't think he was that sad to lose me. Well, not until I mentioned I knew who my father was."

"Cap mentioned Fury kept it from you, not surprising considering he keeps secrets for a living."

"Yeah, I should've known better."

After I'd demolished the bottle of whiskey, I found myself staring down into the empty glass, unable to grasp that this moment was truly happening. It didn't feel quite right, it was just too neat and clean – unlike the path that had led me to this point.

"You haven't questioned it."

"Questioned what?"

"Me and you being related. You've just accepted it as fact."

"Should I be questioning it?"

I looked up at him, finding his handsome face was torn between being amused and confused. I nodded. "Fury hid my true parentage for a reason. He's fought me on it every step of the way, told me countless lies and then the moment I leave SHIELD, nothing. I haven't heard from him at all." I sighed. "It's just a little too…convenient."

"So you don't believe Howard is your father?"

"I'm saying we should do a DNA test to make sure, and then take it from there." I set the glass aside and began pulling off my leather jacket, making Tony's eyebrows rise.

"You want to do it right now?"

"I've waited long enough for answers. Surely you have everything here?"

He shrugged. "Probably. Are you sure you want to do this, kid?"

"Yes." I stated firmly, leaving no opening for him to change my mind.

He rose from the couch and we got to work. He found some swabs upstairs in a bathroom and got Jarvis to help him determined if our DNA was a match. It was a long nervous wait for me, I kept glancing at my cell phone and the photo of me and Steve – we were standing outside our apartment building the day we moved in, his arm was round my shoulders and he was grinning as I kissed his cheek.

I felt like the moment I knew the truth about my father, I would be able to fix myself and thus my relationship with Steve. To lose him after everything we'd been through together would be devastating.

I was snapped brutally from my thoughts by the computer beside me beeping.

"_I'm sorry, sir, but your DNA is not a match to Genevieve Rogers."_

My heart sank as me and Tony looked at each other. His face didn't show any emotion, perhaps a small amount of surprise and pity for my sake. A long ragged breath parted my lips.

"I don't understand where do I go from here?"

"Jarvis, run Genevieve's DNA record against all of SHIELD's agent's profiles, past and present. Maybe we'll get a hit from their system."

"_I'__ll have to override some of their protocols –"_

"Do it, Jarvis." Tony managed a small smile. "This could take a while, kid, why don't you head upstairs and rest in the spare room. I'll come and get you when I know something."

"I don't think –"

"Go."

I slid off the stool and left the workshop, dragging my feet slightly as I moved pass the waterfall to climb the second set of stairs to the second level. I followed the hallway and discovered a spare bedroom, simple and clean, with fantastic views of the ocean. But the stunning space was the last thing on my mind as I slipped out of the shoes and sat on the edge of large King sized bed.

I chewed on my bottom lip as my thumb graced the screen of my cell phone, dialing the number I knew by heart. I raised the phone to my ear, knowing that Steve wouldn't be answering as he was on a mission god knows where but his answering machine would kick in. And on cue his manly tone was like music to my ears.

"_This is Steve Rogers, and I can't answer my phone right now so leave __a message."_

I sighed as the buzzer sounded. "Hey, babe, it's me. So I'm in L.A with Tony Stark, staying at his beautiful mansion by the sea. Finally found my courage to meet him." I paused, deciding not to tell him everything just now. There was nothing he could do about it anyway. "Anyway, I hope you're staying safe…or as safe as you possibly can be with whatever you're doing. I'd like my husband back in one piece, especially since I've been acting like a crazy cat lady." I frowned and sighed again. "Short version is, that I'm so –"

The tone beeped again signaling the end of the message, and I'd spent most of it rambling.

"I'm sorry, Steve." I whispered placing the phone on the bedside table and laid down on my side. I closed my eyes and eventually drifted off into an uneasy sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

** Steve**

_[March 2013 – Paris, France]_

Natasha sat cross-legged upon the motel bed, her laptop balanced on her lap while watching the events unfold through the security system she'd hacked into earlier in the day. The first part of our mission was surveillance, where we'd determined if the target was a treat to SHIELD and if so the two of us and a strike team would go in to secure them. I sat in the comfortable armchair near the window, deliberating about how my life had been a series of missions since the Battle of New York, and it was the one stable part of my life – unlike my wife and her maddening determination. Her obsession to discover her family roots easily tore through our relationship.

Gin had taken the information of her father's true identity onto her shoulders, choosing her old methods of dealing with the revelation rather than relying on me – just when I finally thought we were okay, another Fury bombshell threatened to ruin everything we'd worked so hard to retain.

I released a long sigh, turning away from observing the traffic merge into a blur to pull my cell phone from my pant pocket. I stared somberly at the illuminated screen displaying Gin's beautiful face, a photo taken on our wedding day. She meant everything to me. My thumb graced the screen and it would be so easy to call her – even if she didn't answer, just to hear the message she left on the answering machine had been enough to convince me that she still cared for me. It might've been a roundabout way of apologizing but it was better than nothing.

"Why don't you just call her already?" I looked up to discover Natasha watching me with a knowing smirk; she lightly shook her head and lowered her gaze back to the laptop screen. "The sooner the two of you make up the better, I'm sick of seeing your sad puppy dog face."

"I don't have a puppy dog face."

"You do, Cap. And I bet Gin is brooding around in her pajamas, listening to cheesy love songs and eating whatever junk food she can lay her hands on."

I tilted my head slightly. "I can't imagine that."

"Trust me; I've had the unfortunate pleasure of witnessing it back when she didn't have the serum making her more emotional than usual."

"I don't think Tony would put up with that sort of behavior for very long." I smiled at the thought of the Iron Man having to restrain Gin.

"Yeah, it's a scary thought knowing she could be a Stark right? I'm not the only one who thinks that would be like hell freezing over."

"It makes sense though, doesn't it?" Natasha nodded in agreement, setting the laptop aside and slid off the bed to stretch her limbs. "Maybe I should call her, see how things are going? Who knows what they might be getting up to."

"Well nothing's happening here, so you might as well do it now. But why don't you use the video instead."

"How do I do that?"

Natasha walked over and took the phone from my hands, seemingly taking seconds to fiddle with it before handing it back. I sat up straighter when the black screen cleared and revealed Gin. Her brunette waves were loose and combed over a shoulder; however she didn't appear to be in her pajamas. I hated to admit to myself that seeing her only made me feel worse, I didn't like being so far away from her.

"_Steve? You're calling me?"_ She looked surprised but relived and I smiled.

"Yeah, I got your message the other day."

"_Oh god,__"_she moaned covering her face with a hand, my smile growing as it was her left hand and she was still wearing her wedding rings. _"__I know I rambled and went completely off topic.__ I hate leaving messages, I feel so stupid talking to a machine."_

"I think I got the point you were trying to make, you were apologizing right?"

She lowered her hand and nodded. _"I was attempting too, in my own messed up way."_

"I thought as much." I smiled. "I'm sorry too."

"_What a__re you sorry for? I've been a total bitch to you for months, I don't know how you put up with me…but I'm so grateful you do."_

"See, Cap? I told you she'd be moping around without you." Natasha smirked causing Gin to frown as she heard her old friend speak up.

"_Excuse you, Natasha, I haven't been moping."_

"Yeah?" Natasha walked over, perching herself on the arm of the chair, peering down at the small screen. "What was the last song you listened too?"

I glanced between the two women with some amusement at their bickering.

"_It doesn't matter –" _

"And do I spy candy bar wrappers?"

Gin scowled. _"So I was moping, it's not my fault! It's the stupid serum. Now, can I talk to my husband please?"_

"Told you." Natasha smiled nudging my shoulder before hopping off the armchair and walked back over to inspect her laptop.

"Well, you sound better; I guess you've got things sorted out with Tony."

Her smile faded slightly and the screen jolted as she shifted her position revealing that she was in bed. _"Yeah, about that…Howard Stark isn't my biological father."_

I frowned while watching her adjust the pillows behind her back and then brush some more candy wrappers aside. "What do you mean he's not your father?"

"_Don't g__et me wrong I wanted to be a Stark, it was a nice thought. But I couldn't help but have this horrible feeling in my gut that he wasn't my father, so Tony did a DNA test and when it came up that we weren't a match, he ran my DNA through SHIELD's system."_

"He hacked into SHIELD again?"

"_That's beside the point. We found a match…are you sitting down at the moment?"_

"Yeah," I replied slowly, glancing at Natasha who was still listening in.

"_Well,"_ she reached for a piece of paper and read from it._ "My father was a former SHIELD agent, killed during a mission in 1981. He was an only child, orphaned when he was young so I'm all that's left of that bloodline. Stephanie Simms is my biological mother, but she's also the daughter of a HDRYA scientist –" _

"What?" My hand fumbled with the cell phone as those two words were spoken aloud and my brow instantly furrowed.

"_Steve? Are you there?"_

"Yeah, he's in shock at the moment. Are you sure that's right?" Natasha questioned coming back to stand beside me.

"_Of course I'm s__ure,"_ Gin nodded showing us the pile of papers surrounding her._ "I double checked it myself."_

"Have you talked to Fury?"

I glanced at Natasha's stern features before watching the screen where Gin was shaking her head.

"_Not yet. I'm gonna have to though, a__ll the files relating to Stephanie's father are classified Level ten, so I'm thinking he must have been someone important."_

"More like dangerous." I sighed still struggling to come to terms with my wife being a blood relation to the Nazi soldiers I'd fought during the Second War World. "You seem like you're okay with it all though."

"_I'm probably more okay with it than you are. I finally know the truth and it makes sense why Fury went to so much trouble to cover it up - he's going to be pissed when he finds__ out I know."_

"That's an understatement." Natasha replied.

"_It's not like I haven't been on his shit list before."_ Gin shrugged, not appearing fazed at dealing with Fury. _"You didn't know about this did you, Nat?"_

"No. I never knew who your father was, and I only knew Stephanie was an agent. That was all Fury told me."

"There's still more questions than answers, as usual." I remarked.

"_I know, but at least I have some concrete evidence now." _Gin chewed on her bottom lip for a long moment as silence overcame us. _"Nat, could you give us a minute?"_

"Do I need to leave the room?"

I blushed and Gin merely smirked. _"No…I'll take care of him in person."_

"Gin…" I muttered making Natasha chuckled.

"It's okay, Cap, I'll go and grab us some dinner." She patted my shoulder, and grabbed her bag as she headed out the door.

"_I hope you know I mean that, we've got some serious making up to do." _

"I know."

She beamed. _"Anyway, I'm flying home tomorrow so I'll try and talk to Fury as soon as possible. Do y__ou know when you'll be back?"_

"Not yet." I rubbed the back of my neck.

"_Does it make it weird knowing I'm related to a former HYDRA member?"_

"I don't know I'm still trying to process it to be honest."

"_Well, I should let you get back to work then," _I nodded in agreement even though nothing was happening. I needed some time to process what she'd discovered. _"I love you, Steve."_

"I love you too."

She blew me a kiss and then ended the call. I sighed and looked out the window - I was married to a HYDRA scientist's granddaughter. Gin was right about one thing, who would've thought our lives could get any stranger.


End file.
